Trump’s decision

The dramatic announcement by President Donald Trump on May 8 that the US is withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was warmly welcomed by many in Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, but criticized by most of the international community.

That doesn’t mean that Trump was wrong in rescinding what he called “a decaying and rotten” deal. The pact, better known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), between Iran and six world powers – the US, the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany – is essentially a bad one that rewarded a rogue regime. And as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clearly revealed in his April 30 news conference, Iran lied about its continuing pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Under the accord negotiated in the Obama era, Iran agreed to restrict nuclear activities and allow international inspectors in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.

Now Trump – after citing the Israeli exposure of Iranian secret document – has vowed to impose the “highest level of economic sanctions” to deter Tehran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

In response, Netanyahu said that “Israel fully supports President Trump’s bold decision to reject the disastrous nuclear deal with the terrorist regime in Tehran.”